GENERAL PATTON VS. THE EXECUTIONERS



Album Title: General Patton vs. the X-Ecutioners
Producer(s): Mike Patton
Genre: RAP/HIP-HOP
Label/Catalog Number: Ipecac 60
Source: Billboard.com
Originally Reviewed: March 16, 2005


Not a ragged mash-up but not quite a cohesive whole either, this chop-socky collaboration finds the sinister shapeshifter Mike Patton (singer of Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Lovage, Fantomas and about a thousand others) slithering his schizoid vocals around a sea of beats, bass and samples by the acclaimed Cali turntablists.

It's a cool idea, and Patton's certainly up to the challenge, leaking that liquid-evil vocal work over mostly banging beats that skittishly weave in hip-hop, metal guitars and "Star Wars" samples with some material from the corners of the X-Ecutioners' vinyl crates labeled "obscure," "Indian" and "lo-fi funk."

But things tend get a little rickety in the second half, when the beats are replaced by half-formed paste-up soundscapes and the X-Men rely too much on old kung-fu flick samples, the most played-out mix-tape trick since that rat-a-tat-tat sound effect. Still, it's a funky novelty bridge between turntablism and whatever world Patton's in.